The treatment of leishmaniasis still relies on drugs with potentially serious adverse effects. Herein, we tested a topical formulation of bacterial cellulose (BC) membranes containing Diethyldithiocarbamate (DETC), a superoxide dismutase 1 inhibitor. Leishmania-infected macrophages exposed to BC-DETC resulted in parasite killing, without pronounced toxic effects to host cells. This outcome was associated with lower SOD1 activity and higher production of superoxide and cytokine mediators. Topical application of BC-DETC significantly decreased lesion size, parasite load and the inflammatory response at the infection site, as well as the production of both IFN-γ and TNF...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the real-world safety and effectiveness of iguratimod (IGU) for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a 52-week, Japanese, postmarketing surveillance study was conducted. An interim analysis at week 24 was performed. METHODS: This study included all RA patients who received IGU following its introduction to the market. All adverse events (AEs) and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were collected. Effectiveness was evaluated by the change in Disease Activity Score 28-C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP) from baseline to week 24...

The sacroiliitis accounts for about 1.5% - 10% of all cases of septic arthritis and it is strongly associated with gynaecological infections, pelvic trauma or drug abuse (3.4% - 12.8% of cases occur during the postpartum period). Early diagnosis is difficult because the symptoms are nonspecific in pregnancy and in the postpartum period, making the delay of treatment a serious risk of irreversible damage to the joint and development of post-infectious complications. The authors describe the case of a 37-year-old puerperal woman presented to hospital, weeks after urgent caesarean section, with endometritis, post-anesthetic epidural hematoma and secondary infectious postpartum sacroiliitis...

Combating antimicrobial resistance is one of the most serious public health challenges facing society today. The development of new antibiotics or alternative techniques that can help combat antimicrobial resistance is being prioritised by many governments and stakeholders across the globe. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy is one such technique that has received considerable attention but is limited by the inability of light to penetrate through human tissue, reducing its effectiveness when used to treat deep-seated infections...

BACKGROUND: Septic arthritis is a serious joint disease often caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Receptor for Advanced Glycation End products (RAGE) has an important role in several infections. We sought to investigate the role of RAGE in staphylococcal septic arthritis and sepsis in mice. METHODS: Wild-type (WT) and RAGE deficient (RAGE-/-) mice were intra-articularly or intravenously inoculated with an arthritic or septic dose of S. aureus LS-1 strain...

BACKGROUND: In heroin injectors, there have been a number of outbreaks caused by spore-forming bacteria, causing serious infections such as anthrax or botulism. These are, most likely, caused by injecting contaminated heroin, and our aim was to develop a filter that efficiently removes these bacteria and is also likely to be acceptable for use by people who inject drugs (i.e. quick, simple and not spoil the hit). METHODS: A prototype filter was designed and different filter membranes were tested to assess the volume of liquid retained, filtration time and efficiency of the filter at removing bacterial spores...

The therapeutic use of bacteriophages has seen a renewal of interest blossom in the last few years. This reversion is due to increased difficulties in the treatment of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics, a serious problem in contemporary medicine, does not implicate resistance to phage lysis mechanisms. Lytic bacteriophages are able to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria at the end of the phage infection cycle. Thus, the development of phage therapy is potentially a way to improve the treatment of bacterial infections...

Mediastinitis is a serious infection involving mediastinal spaces after cervical infections spread along the facial planes. A late diagnosis of mediastinitis may result in death. Here we present a diabetic patient suffered from mediastinit accompanied with hyperosmolar nonketotic coma. A 61 years old male patient with type 2 diabetes was admitted to our hospital, with complaint of generalized worsening and fever. A diagnosis of nonketotic hyperosmolar coma was done and proper treatment started immediately. Neck tomography revealed abscess formation in the upper mediastinum...

Carbapenems are a class of last-resort antibiotics; thus, the increase in bacterial carbapenem-resistance is a serious public health threat. Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the microorganisms that can acquire carbapenem-resistance; it causes severe nosocomial infection, and is notoriously difficult to control in hospitals. Recently, a machine-learning approach was first used to analyze the genome sequences of hundreds of susceptible and resistant A. baumannii strains, including those carrying commonly acquired resistant mechanisms, to build a classifier that can predict strain resistance...

BACKGROUND: Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are a major health problem affecting mostly young people in both developing and developed countries. STD in women causes both acute morbidity and complications such as infertility, ectopic pregnancy, low-birth weight, and prematurity. AIMS: The aim of the study is to assess the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis, vaginal candidiasis, and trichomoniasis among asymptomatic females attending STD outpatient department in a tertiary care hospital in South India...

BACKGROUND: Propionibacterium (P) acnes infection of the shoulder after arthroplasty is a common and serious complication. Current detection methods for P acnes involve anaerobic cultures that require prolonged incubation periods (typically 7-14 days). We have developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) approach that sensitively and specifically identifies P acnes in tissue specimens within a 24-hour period. METHODS: Primers were designed to amplify a unique region of the 16S rRNA gene in P acnes that contained a unique HaeIII restriction enzyme site...

Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections of the gastrointestinal tract pose a serious public health concern. High levels of antibiotic drug resistance, along with the potential for antibiotics to precipitate disease or alter the gut microbiome has prompted research into alternative treatment methods. Evidence suggests that bacteriophage therapy delivered per os may be well-suited to target such infections. Areas covered: Herein, we discuss the specific advantages and challenges of using orally administered phage therapy...

The available literature data give evidence that viral infection is the main cause underlying the development of inflammatory nasopharyngeal pathology in the children. According to ICD-10, nether acute nor chronic adenoiditis should be considered as a self-consistent nosological entity. Acute adenoiditis is usually regarded as a form of acute nasopharyngitis (J02) or acute respiratory viral infection (J06.9) whereas chronic adenoiditis is commonly referred to as representing other chronic diseases of the tonsils and adenoids (J 35...

In the course of influenza A virus (IAV) infections, a secondary bacterial infection frequently leads to serious respiratory conditions provoking high hospitalization and death tolls. Although abundant pro-inflammatory responses have been reported as key contributing factors for these severe dual infections, the relative contributions of cytokines remain largely unclear. In the current study, mathematical modelling based on murine experimental data dissects IFN-γ as a cytokine candidate responsible for impaired bacterial clearance, thereby promoting bacterial growth and systemic dissemination during acute IAV infection...

BACKGROUND: Septic arthritis (SA) and acute osteomyelitis (AO) are among the most common serious bacterial infections of childhood. Knowledge of the microbiology of SA is critical to treatment. Awareness of the presence of attendant AO is also important to guide clinical management. We sought to describe the current microbiology of SA in children as well as describe clinical features associated with coexisting AO. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with SA were identified from the infectious diseases consult service records from 2010-2014...

There are 264 primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs), most of which are rare. They are caused by complement deficiencies, defects in phagocyte function, impaired T-cell function, and/or impaired B-cell function with antibody deficiencies. Most patients with PIDs will present, at varying ages, with frequent infections. These infections can be common respiratory tract infections such as otitis media or pneumonia, or they can be unusual bacterial, fungal, or parasitic infections. Neonatal screening for severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome, one of the most common and serious PIDs, is now performed in most US states, but many PIDs manifest and are detected after birth...

Serious bacterial infections in infants under 2-years-of-age with fever without a source remains, despite advances in vaccination, a matter of concern for both physicians and parents. Having cost-effectiveness information is relevant to guide decision making in clinical practice in this scenario. Objective: To determine the cost-effectiveness of four different strategies of screening in Argentina for serious bacterial infection in children presenting with fever without a source. Materials and methods: We designed a decision tree to model a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 children with fever without a source...

AIMS: Cucumber angular leaf spot caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. lachrymans (Psl) is an important and destructive disease worldwide, and no effective technique has been developed for the control of the pathogen. Detection of infection or latent in cucumber plants is critical to evaluate disease progress and strengthening management to avoid a serious epidemic in the fields. In this paper, we developed a rapid and sensitive method for detection of Psl using a isothermal method known as loop-mediated amplification (LAMP)...

Infection is a serious complication after nasal packing that otolaryngologists seek to avoid. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of silver (Ag) nanoparticle, which serves as antimicrobial agents, with nasal tampons. The study design is an experimental animal model and the setting is tertiary referral center. Twenty-four rats were randomized into the following four groups: (1) control group (n = 6); (2) silicone nasal splint (SNS) group (n = 6); (3) polypropylene-grafted polyethylene glycol (PP-g-PEG) amphiphilic graft copolymer-coated SNS group (n = 6); and (4) Ag nanoparticle-embedded PP-g-PEG (Ag-PP-g-PEG) amphiphilic graft copolymer-coated SNS group (n = 6)...